I rode my motorcycle out to Neah Bay, right down near the water in a thick fog. I was ready for some hot coffee and soup when I got there! No great horizon viewing that day.I cast around to see what I might see and wandered into this place. Thank goodness for the fog!An entire village preserved due to a mudslide. So much quality, historical, cultural stuff. I always liked NW Native Coastal art but this lead me much deeper. I did buy a very nice and huge NW Coastal Native mask (recently made by a noted native artist) as my enthusiasm from the cultural center seemingly had taken over my brain and wallet. Even though it was expensive and too big to pack on the motorcycle it was worth it, and proudly hangs from the wall at home.
I read the reviews online and decided to stop here to get our permit just to check the place out. I am NOT a museum person but this place was pretty amazing for $5. It got us out of the rain for an hour or so and some of the tribal art is great - we ended up buying some very cool rain boots.
I've visited five or six Native American museums and I love this little gem. It isn't super fancy, but it is very well organized and does an excellent job of telling the Makah story. We were surprised that we were there three full hours, but we couldn't help but read every sign and soak in every minute of the excellent hour-long video. In the 1970s, buried sections of an ancient Makah village were uncovered at Ozette. More than 55,000 artifacts were subsequently recovered by an archaeology team. The best of those artifacts are on display at the Makah Museum. It was very impressive to see how advanced the Makahs were 500 years ago. I don't think most modern-day Americans appreciate how advanced some Native Americans were. The Makahs lived in cedar plank houses at Ozette year-round and had more wealth than many tribes due to their central location (central for the West Coast tribes for what is now the U.S. and Canada). Ozette was a trading hub. If you want to know more about a West Coast tribe, I highly recommend a visit to Neah Bay and the Makah Museum.
We really enjoyed the museum. The admission is $5 for adults, $4 for students (college students must show id). We spent about 2 hours on our visit. The exhibits are fascinating and well done. At the end, there is a dvd presentation, about 58 minutes long, which is worth watching as it covers more about the tribe, the Ozette finds, and more. The museum has a small gift shop area, with some fairly reasonably priced items, such as Tshirts for $8-20, and other souveniers. Highly recommend visiting!
Self guided tour reveals the history of an old coastal tribe and the well kept records and artifacts from generations ago. Very nice gift shop, easy to find location.
If you're interested in the life of the folk who lived here before the Europeans came and changed everything, this is an excellent museum, especially because it features items found from an excavation of a village that was covered by a mudslide and therefore well-preserved. The Makah may not have been the most sophisticated of the Northwest Coast tribes, but their lives are a lesson to us all about living in harmony with nature. Baskets, canoes, clothes, longhouse -- everything made for and used in daily living. It's a long trip from Port Angeles, but it's worth it. Take a picnic -- food onsite is minimal.
Our visit here opened our eyes to the early experiences of the Makahs -- the artifacts from the Ozette archalogical dig and the way they were displayed were exceptional -- if you enjoy learning about Native American culture, this is a must visit -- no photos allowed inside; some items outside to photograph -- purchased a nicely made cedar bark rose in the gift shop
Full of information, and willing to answer and talk about not just the museum but other things to see and do in the area. The museum had wonderful and informative exhibits, so glad we stopped.
This place is a gem. The $5 admission is more than repayed by the excellent exhibits, helpful staff and rest stop facilities. Also a handy place to buy the $10 parking pass required to access the Cape Flattery trail.
We stopped here to round out our trip to an amazing area of Washington State. When teenage boys enjoy a museum, you know it's a good one. The staff was quite friendly. There is a nice little gift shop as well.